1. Technical Field
A valve assembly, a pump for a viscous fluid, and an apparatus for dispensing fluids.
2. Background of the Related Art
Valve assemblies for viscous fluid dispensers are known e.g. from international patent application WO 03/083334. This document discloses a valve assembly for a fluid dispenser including a housing having at least a first opening (19) and a second opening (20), and a valve member fitted in the housing, the valve member (15) being rotatable about an axis and comprising a first channel (22), extending along said axis and communicating with the first opening in the housing, and at least two outlet channels (23, 24) radially extending from the first channel to the circumference of the valve member, wherein each of the radially extending outlet channels can be brought in register with the second opening by rotating the valve member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,240 relates to a three-way plastic diaphragm valve provided with a rather complicated creep compensation system, which compensates for compression of internal valve components as well as extension of the valve body. In a manually operated three-way valve embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,240, a trapped spring mechanism inserted between an actuator portion and an upper valve member provides the closure force for the upper valve member on the upper valve seat. An example of the spring mechanism is shown in FIG. 7.
Therefore, there is a need for a valve that comprises an effective and relatively straightforward means for creep compensation.